Französische Kultur

The 17th and the 18th century saw several waves of emigration of French
Protestants to Prussia. While the first waves mainly brought craftsmen, the
policy deployed by Frederick 2nd attracted more intellectual populations as
well. Press, Court, Academy of Sciences were dominated by French language and
culture – and remained until the early 19th century.

The first corpus edited here deals with Louis de Beausobre (1730-1783).
Beausobre is the son of a German mother and a French pastor who enjoyed the
favors of the crown prince and helped his son take advantage of them. Beausobre
studied philosophy and published several books defending pyrrhonistic theses.
He became a member of the Academy of Sciences in 1755.

The second corpus is formed by the correspondence exchanged between Johann
Albrecht Euler (1734-1800) and Jean Henri Samuel Formey (1711-1797). The two
men share a bond both personal and professional. While Formey is secretary to
the Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin from 1748 to his death, Johann Albrecht
Euler is appointed to the same function in 1769 in the Imperial Academy of
Sciences in Saint-Petersburg. On a family stand, Euler married Formey's niece
Sophie Charlotte Hagemeister in 1760, thus entering Formey's circle of
relatives.

A hundred of the letters written by Euler is kept at the State Library of
Berlin, while Formey's answers are kept at the archives of the Russian Academy
of Sciences.

Both men enjoy privileges granted by their respective sovereigns, King
Frederic II of Prussia and Empress Catherine II of Russia. Their privileged
positions allow them to evolve around the leading figures of their time. In his
letters, Johann Albrecht Euler regularly evokes significant events at Court,
within the various institutions he takes part in, and within the francophone
community of Saint-Petersburg. Thanks to his family connections and
professional networks, he is a key figure of Petersburg's scientific activity,
which he mentions at length throughout his correspondence.

His detailed accounts of scientific publications, expeditions and
experiments initiated by the Imperial Academy and of his own social
interactions not only give an insight into his daily life, but also inform
about his father Leonard Euler's works, as well as those of a number of
influent scientists of his time, such as Daniel Bernoulli, Caspar Wolff, and
many others among Euler's circle of relatives and colleagues, both in Berlin
and Saint-Petersburg.